Blog Post 1

John Walsh
City of Mud and Gold
Blog Post 1




Our class trip to the Museum of London’s Docklands was a very interesting and educational journey.  I think that this museum, along with the transport museum did a very good job of showing the progression and history that Britain/London has had as an empire and a city.  As you walk throughout the museum, you begin to see how the British empire strategized and became successful at controlling the seas, and eventually the more modern options like the tube.  The various exhibits showed how this success was possible and how it improved with technology, innovation, and education over time. 
When we arrived at the slave trade exhibit, it was particularly interesting to see the British perspective on this history rather than an American one.  This was because it showed how Britain committed these horrendous acts, but also how they were ashamed yet informative of what had occurred.  One of my favorite parts was the African art that they displayed.  I thought this was intriguing for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, I think the art was very intricate and historic.  The different objects such as the bronze plaque and statue of the leopard were very detailed and fascinating to examine.  I also found this section interesting because of the museum’s commentary on the topic.  They described how unlike many people previously thought, the Africans had a very complex and beautiful culture as exemplified by the art.  They were not savage beings without any culture or tradition, but instead had intricate and meaningful art that was a deep part of their society.  They also included that the European’s spread lies about the savage and simple nature of the Africans in order to make it easier to enslave them and appear more moral; it is more difficult to sell a slave that is similar to you, can reason, speak your language, write, etc.  Both the art and the commentary stuck in my head after seeing and reading this, making it one of the most memorable parts of the museum.
When comparing the museum to the art we learned about in class, there are a few different images that come to mind.  I think the painting, Bartering for Slaves on the Guinea Coast by Francois Auguste Biard in 1840, is a good representation of the museum’s slave trade exhibit and the story that is told.  This image details a group of Africans on a boat being shipped out to sea.  Although many are still wearing their traditional clothing, they are being stripped of their identity.  It is interesting to see the unique and cultural outfits that they are wearing and how they are not as “savage” as the Europeans once claimed them to be.  The painting also shows the recently enslaved people are crowded together and branded while the white men sit back, burn flesh, and drink.  This branding is evidence of how their freedom had been taken from them along with their culture, homeland, and families. 
This painting is heavily related to the museum and how Britain played a large role in the slave trade and the mistreatment of Africans.  Both the painting (traditional clothing and garb) and the art (bronze plaque, casts, leopard statue) displayed in the museum showed African culture and how it was taken away from them due to the British and other Europeans enslaving them.  I think this is a very key theme to keep in mind because history is important, and the slave trade still has effects on our world today.



Works Cited:
Biard, Auguste Francois. Bartering for Slaves on the Guinea Coast. 1840.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding the Imperial War Museum and The Blitz

Image
Reading the letters from the Blitz and visiting the Imperial War Museum gave me a different outlook on World War II and London during this time. These experiences gave me a more human understanding of life at this time. At the Imperial War Museum, I was reminded of how real the war was for everyone alive at the time by seeing artifacts that people once wore, maps that real people once wrote on, equipment people once used and more. With how separated we are, not only as a generation that wasn’t alive during the war, but also as Americans who did not have fighting on our soil, it is sometimes difficult to visualize those events. Being in London and seeing buildings that are still damaged from the Blitz and visiting places like the Imperial War Museum help with that visualization and understanding. In addition to seeing items in a museum, the letters that we read also helped to add a human understanding to the events. Reading about people dying and bodies being pulled from th...
Read more

A Trip to the Imperial War Museum.

Image
Visiting the Imperial War Museum was a strangely rewarding experience for me because of a unique experience provided by an exhibit that the IWM does not particularly approve of. I am speaking about the Graham, the man from Birmingham who grew up during the blitz. While he discussed his experiences in a way that I could clearly tell were scripted. It was only when I was able to ask questions for myself that I found myself enjoying the experience. After I asked him, "did you ever think you would lose?" and he responded by saying, "no, of course not, Churchill said we weren't going to." I have always felt that the feelings of patriotism that Britain likes to tell itself about during the blitz were somewhat exaggerated. The letters we read for this week of reading certainly seemed to display a far greater degree of fear and horror than Britain would like you to believe, yet Graham seemed to look back on his time growing up fondly. He said that he felt like he m...
Read more

P Bawa Blog Post #2 - Imperial War Museum

Image
Pratham Bawa Prof Nancy Marshall City of Mud and Gold Blog Post #2 Last week’s trip to the Imperial War Museum was especially unique and one that really caught my attention. I personally do not know much about World War II, more specifically Britain’s role within it, even though this is a topic that fascinates me. Because of this, I was especially interested in the exhibits, structures, paintings, and other things I was able to see/experience during our time there. I did not really know about any of the destruction that London had faced during these harsh times and how much the city was actually impacted.  One particular sight that caught my attention during our trip was the remains of a car that had been destroyed by violence, most likely a bombing strike, during the war. This structure really gives the perspective as to how brutal the violence would get and how anything within the path of destruction would get completely decimated. This is especially true during tim...
Read more